[...]... crowning glory Southwest Virginia is dominated by the Blue Ridge Mountains and Southwest Highlands, which extend for about 300 miles across the whole state in a southwest-northeast direction The Blue Ridge are at their widest near the North Carolina border To the southwest rise the headwaters of Virginia s great Tidewater rivers – the Rappahannock, the York, and the James To the north, the Potomac and Shenandoah... Roanoke, at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, is the largest city in western Virginia, as well as the business and cultural center for the region Petersburg, just to the south of Richmond, Lynchburg on the upper James River, and Danville, close to the southern border, represent Virginia s major tobacco markets History It was during the reign of King James I of England that men of the Virginia. .. delight us all The Commonwealth is the grandfather of these United States It saw the beginnings of this great country as it was hewn from the virgin timber It saw the birth of a new nation when the English surrendered at Yorktown And it saw the nation’s rebirth when General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, thus bringing the great Civil War to an end Visitors to the Commonwealth... hydroelectric projects: the Philpott Dam on the Smith River and the John H Kerr Dam on the Roanoke River Both projects were completed during the 1950s Many state and national agencies have been part of Virginia s efforts at reclamation and its many conservation programs Much of the credit for the success of these programs must go to the agencies that have directed them These include the Virginia State Department... by the west bank of the Potomac River To the west and northwest it is bounded by the states of West Virginia and Kentucky, and to the south by Tennessee and North Carolina To the east, Virginia is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean America’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, separates the low-lying coastal plains of eastern Virginia and the two eastern counties, Northampton and Accomack, located on the. .. within Virginia over secession from the Union in 1861 reduced it even further when, in 1863, the 50 counties in far northwest Virginia broke away to form the new state of West Virginia Since the end of the Civil War, despite the massive loss of territory, Virginia s population has steadily increased to the point where, today, it ranks 14th among the states with a population of 6.3 million people The Rise... v The name Delmarva comes from the names of the three states – Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia – that occupy the area Virginia s portion occupies the southernmost tip Virginia s southern border is 440 miles long, and the greatest distance, from north to south, is 196 miles Its total area is 40,817 square miles, which includes more than 1,000 square miles of inland water surface The Five Regions There... five distinct and natural regions in Virginia, which slopes gently upward from sea level in the east to more than 5,000 feet in the mountainous regions of the west Mount Rogers, located to the southwest on the border between Smyth and Grayson counties, is the highest point in the state at 5,729 feet Northern Virginia encompasses the section of the state southwest of the Maryland border from Arlington... oration 1781 Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown 1784 Virginia ceded its northwestern lands to the US 1787 The Constitutional Convention adopted the Virginia Plan 1870 Virginia was readmitted to the Union 1908 Staunton became the first city in the US with a city manager History 13 1915 The Virginia- West Virginia debt dispute was settled 1970 Virginia s present state constitution was adopted 1926... across the state from 54°F in the southwestern mountains to about 59° along the coast The average annual precipitation varies from about 50 inches in the extreme southeastern region to around 35 inches in the northwestern part of the state The area with the longest growing season – about 260 days – extends southward along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay from Northumberland County to Virginia . located to the southwest on the border between Smyth and Grayson counties, is the highest point in the state at 5,729 feet. Northern Virginia encompasses the section of the state southwest of the Maryland. following the topography. To the northeast, Vir - ginia is separated from Maryland and the District of Columbia by the west bank of the Potomac River. To the west and northwest it is bounded by the. true. From the majesty of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west to the mighty river deltas in the east, Virginia is a great green blanket cast down upon the landscape to de - light us all. The Commonwealth